Academic procrastination in non-traditional college students

Introducción. La procrastinación es la acción de retrasar la realización de tareas necesarias, hasta el extremo de generar malestar y perjuicios a los individuos que la protagonizan. La presencia de alumnado no tradicional en las universidades se ha incrementado notablemente en las últimas décadas. Este tipo de estudiantes encuentra dificultades en sus estudios, las cua- les podrían propiciar una mayor incidencia de las conductas procrastinadoras. Para compro- barlo, comparamos los niveles de procrastinación y motivos para procrastinar entre estudian- tes tradicionales y no tradicionales. Método. Utilizamos una muestra de 479 estudiantes colombianos. Los niveles de procrasti- nación y motivos para procrastinar fueron medidos a partir de la Procrastination Assessment Scale – Students (PASS). En el análisis de datos se utilizaron estadísticos descriptivos, análisis factorial exploratorio, prueba t para muestras independientes y d de Cohen. Resultados. Los estudiantes no tradicionales han presentado niveles de procrastinación supe- riores (t=4,412; p<0,001; d=0,459), aunque los motivos para procrastinar no difieren de los aportados por estudiantes tradicionales. El carácter de estudiante no tradicional ha resultado ser una variable relevante en la explicación de la procrastinación académica. Discusión y conclusiones. A partir de estos resultados, se deriva la conveniencia de ofrecer una orientación académica al alumnado no tradicional, con el fin de tratar la procrastinación y reducir así posibles riesgos de bajo rendimiento o abandono en este colectivo estudiantil.Introduction. Procrastination is the act of delaying necessary tasks until the extreme of ex- periencing discomfort and negative consequences to the individuals. The presence of nontra- ditional students at universities is a phenomenon which has increased remarkably over the last decades. This type of university students finds some difficulties during their grade. This could result in a higher prevalence of procrastination behaviors among nontraditional students at university. To test this, our work compares procrastination levels and reasons to procrastinate among traditional and nontraditional students Method. A sample of 479 Colombian college students was used. Procrastination and the rea- sons to procrastinate are measured by the Procrastination Assessment Scale - Students (PASS). The data analysis is based on descriptive statistics, exploratory factorial analysis, t test for independent samples and Coohen’s d. Results. Nontraditional students show higher procrastination levels (t=4,412; p<0,001; d=0,459), although their reasons to procrastinate are similar to those of traditional students. The nontraditional student condition is a demographic variable relevant for explaining aca- demic procrastination. Discussion and Conclusion. These results suggest the convenience of offering academic counselling and guidance to nontraditional students, in order to attend procrastination and reducing that way low achievement or dropout risks

Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Procrastination as Predictors of Smartphone Addiction among Second Year-Middle School Learning Disabled Students

This study aimed to investigate the combined effects of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) and Academic Procrastination (AP) on Smartphone Addiction (SA). It also aimed at investigating the relative contribution of SRL and academic procrastination to SA among second year- middle school learning disabled students. Moreover, it sought to explore if there were correlations between and among SRL and AP on SA. Quantitative survey research was employed. 68 students from the four schools were selected. The results &nbsp;revealed that there were correlations between and among SRL, AP and SA. Both &nbsp;SRL and&nbsp; AP contributed to the prediction of SA. AP is a more potential predictor than SRL. The results raise our awareness of the negative impact of SA upon students as students who are supposed to be of no risk for SA could use high SRL strategies. Additionally, students who are used to using smartphone&nbsp; excessively are rarely able to attain high academic achievement, and may delay doing their assigned homework

Internet addiction and academic procrastination as predictors of academic stress in universities in the South East

Despite the constant efforts made by institutions of higher learning to reduce academic stress, studies show that stress among students is on a steady increase which could be a result of the ever-increasing attachment of students to the Internet. Furthermore, students' delay to complete academic tasks may result in overwhelm and eventually academic stress. The purpose of the study, therefore, was to ascertain if Internet addiction and academic procrastination are predictors of academic stress in universities in the South East. Four research questions were raised for the study while three hypotheses were tested. A correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all 61, 026 regular first-year undergraduate students for the 2020/2021 academic session in the federal universities in the South East. The sample of this study was made up of 720 regular undergraduate students for the 2020/2021 session obtained through a multi-stage sampling procedure and purposive sampling technique. Academic Procrastination Scale (APS), Adolescents Educational Stress Scale (AESS), and Internet Addiction among Undergraduate Students Questionnaire (IAUSQ) were used to collect data. APS, IAUSQ, and AESS were validated by three experts in the Department of Educational Foundations, all at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliabilities of APS, IAUSQ, and AESS were established using Cronbach alpha statistics. The reliability coefficient obtained was 0.78 for AESS, 0.83 for APS, and 0.76 for IAUSQ. Data collected were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation, multiple regression, and t-test of significance. The findings of the study revealed that while Internet addition did not significantly predict undergraduate students’ academic stress while academic procrastination significantly predicted undergraduate students’ academic stress. The implications of the study were brought to the fore and it was recommended among others that educational psychologists should evolve intervention and proactive prevention strategies that would address issues of academic procrastination and internet addiction so as to avert the trend of academic stress among undergraduate students. Lastly, suggestions for further studies were made

An exploration of problematic smartphone use among Chinese university students: associations with academic anxiety, academic procrastination, self-Regulation and subjective wellbeing

Over the past decade, there have been an increasing number of studies that have investigated problematic and/or 'addictive' smartphone use. The present study explored the prevalence and correlates of problematic smartphone use (PSU) among Chinese university students. Few studies have investigated relationships between PSU and factors such as academic anxiety, academic procrastination, self-regulation, and subjective wellbeing. The present study proposed and tested a hypothetical model of relationships between PSU and these factors. A total of 475 Chinese university students completed a paper-based survey during class breaks. The survey comprised a battery of psychometric scales translated into Chinese translations examining the study variables (i.e., academic anxiety, academic procrastination, self-regulation, life satisfaction, and PSU). Path analysis was applied to test the hypothetical model. A good model fit was found (CFI = 1.00, RMSEA = 0.008), in which PSU predicted academic procrastination (β = 0.21, p < 0.001) and academic anxiety (β = 0.18, p < 0.01). Also, self-regulation predicted PSU (β = − 0.35, p < 0.001), academic anxiety (β = − 0.29, p < 0.001), academic procrastination (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) and life satisfaction (β = 0.23, p < 0.001). PSU mediated the relationships between self-regulation, and both academic anxiety and academic procrastination. The present study enhances our understanding of the role of problematic smartphone use in relation to academic behaviour, mental health and wellbeing of college students

A metacognitive model of procrastination

BACKGROUND: procrastination refers to the delay or postponement of task or decision-making initiation or completion and is often conceptualised as a failure of self-regulation. Recent research has suggested that metacognitions play a role in procrastination and that unintentional procrastination (UP), as opposed to intentional procrastination (IP), may be the most problematic form of this behaviour. We aimed to test a metacognitive model of procrastination that was grounded in the Self-Regulatory Executive Function model. METHODS: a convenience sample of 400 participants were recruited and completed (at least partially) a battery of online questionnaires that measured IP and UP, metacognitions about procrastination, depression, and Cognitive Attentional Syndrome (CAS) configurations. Initially, we tested series of hypotheses to establish the relationships between the experimental variables and to test whether CAS configurations would independently predict UP when controlling for age, depression, IP, metacognitions about procrastination, and whether an individual reported that they had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. RESULTS: CAS configurations, depression, and metacognitions independently predicted UP. Additionally, path analysis revealed that the study data was an excellent fit to the proposed metacognitive model of procrastination. LIMITATIONS: the study is cross-sectional. CONCLUSIONS: the metacognitive model of procrastination presented in this paper can be used to generate novel interventions to treat this problematic behaviour

Academic Procrastination, Self-Efficacy, and Task Value of Pre-Service Biology Teacher During Online Learnings

Academic procrastination, frequently linked to low self-efficacy and poor assignment performance, is more likely to occur when learning online. This study aims to reveal the level of academic procrastination, self-efficacy, and assignments by semester, areas of academic procrastination, and reasons for delaying assignments, as well as the relationship between academic procrastination, self-efficacy, and task value. This study uses a quantitative approach through a cross-sectional exploratory study. The sample in this study was semester 1, 3, 5, and 7 students who were taken through a stratified random sampling technique. Utilizing the survey method was the data collection methodology. The level of students is described using frequency distribution descriptive data. To use regression analysis to explain the connection between academic procrastination, self-efficacy, and task value. The reasons for procrastination were analyzed qualitatively. According to the findings, pre-service biology teachers who participated in online learning exhibited moderate levels of academic procrastination (37.8%), self-efficacy (39.1%), and task value (29.9%). More than half of the pre-service biology teachers polled stated they would prefer to postpone doing summaries of four pages of foreign language homework over twelve pages of Indonesian homework. Compared to creating a summary of the subject, more than half of biology education students said they would rather put off making a mind map. Reasons for postponing assignments varied among students. Furthermore, in academic procrastination, there is a negative simultaneous association between self-efficacy and task value

The contribution of metacognitions and attentional control to decisional procrastination

Earlier research has implicated metacognitions and attentional control in procrastination and self-regulatory failure. This study tested several hypotheses: (1) that metacognitions would be positively correlated with decisional procrastination; (2) that attentional control would be negatively correlated with decisional procrastination; (3) that metacognitions would be negatively correlated with attentional control; and (4) that metacognitions and attentional control would predict decisional procrastination when controlling for negative affect. One hundred and twenty-nine participants completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21, the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire 30, the Attentional Control Scale, and the Decisional Procrastination Scale. Significant relationships were found between all three attentional control factors (focusing, shifting, and flexible control of thought) and two metacognitions factors (negative beliefs concerning thoughts about uncontrollability and danger, and cognitive confidence). Results also revealed that decisional procrastination was significantly associated with negative affect, all measured metacognitions factors, and all attentional control factors. In the final step of a hierarchical regression analysis only stress, cognitive confidence, and attention shifting were independent predictors of decisional procrastination. Overall these findings support the hypotheses and are consistent with the Self-Regulatory Executive Function model of psychological dysfunction. The implications of these findings are discussed

Internet addiction: a systematic review of epidemiological research for the last decade

In the last decade, Internet usage has grown tremendously on a global scale. The increasing popularity and frequency of Internet use has led to an increasing number of reports highlighting the potential negative consequences of overuse. Over the last decade, research into Internet addiction has proliferated. This paper reviews the existing 68 epidemiological studies of Internet addiction that (i) contain quantitative empirical data, (ii) have been published after 2000, (iii) include an analysis relating to Internet addiction, (iv) include a minimum of 1000 participants, and (v) provide a full-text article published in English using the database Web of Science. Assessment tools and conceptualisations, prevalence, and associated factors in adolescents and adults are scrutinised. The results reveal the following. First, no gold standard of Internet addiction classification exists as 21 different assessment instruments have been identified. They adopt official criteria for substance use disorders or pathological gambling, no or few criteria relevant for an addiction diagnosis, time spent online, or resulting problems. Second, reported prevalence rates differ as a consequence of different assessment tools and cut-offs, ranging from 0.8% in Italy to 26.7% in Hong Kong. Third, Internet addiction is associated with a number of sociodemographic, Internet use, and psychosocial factors, as well as comorbid symptoms and disorder in adolescents and adults. The results indicate that a number of core symptoms (i.e., compulsive use, negative outcomes and salience) appear relevant for diagnosis, which assimilates Internet addiction and other addictive disorders and also differentiates them, implying a conceptualisation as syndrome with similar etiology and components, but different expressions of addictions. Limitations include the exclusion of studies with smaller sample sizes and studies focusing on specific online behaviours. Conclusively, there is a need for nosological precision so that ultimately those in need can be helped by translating the scientific evidence established in the context of Internet addiction into actual clinical practice

An exploratory study on adaptive psychopathological risk and problematic use of the web associated with procrastination in university students

La procrastinación es un fenómeno creciente entre los estudiantes universitarios y la investigación internacional ha señalado que puede afectar a la calidad de sus logros e incluso a su bienestar psicofísico. Se ha sugerido que, además de manifestarse en el contexto académico, la procrastinación representa en algunas materias una tendencia estable en diversas áreas de la vida diaria y puede persistir por el resto de sus vidas. Este estudio ha recopilado una muestra de conveniencia de N=382 estudiantes universitarios en Italia, que fueron administrados a través de la Escala de Procrastinación Pura, el Autoinforme de Adultos, la Prueba de Adicción a Internet y la Escala de Impulsividad de Barratt. Nuestros resultados confirmaron la relación entre el riesgo psicopatológico, la impulsividad, el uso problemático de la web y la propensión a la procrastinación académica en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios, brindando apoyo para la construcción de programas de prevención e intervención.Procrastination is a growing phenomenon among university students and international research has pointed out that it can affect the quality of students’ achievements, and even their psycho-physical well-being. It has been suggested that, besides manifesting in the academic context, procrastination represents in some subjects a stable trend in various areas of daily life and can persist for the rest of their lives. This study has recruited a convenience sample of N=382 university students in Italy, who were administered through the Pure Procrastination Scale, the Adult Self-Report, the Internet Addiction Test, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Our results confirmed the association between psychopathological risk, impulsiveness, problematic use of the web and a propensity towards academic procrastination in a sample of university students, providing support for the construction of prevention and intervention programs.peerReviewe